Prescribed burns planned for this Spring (03-23-12)

MONTE VISTA - The Rio Grande National Forest and the Bureau of Land Management’s San Luis Valley Field Office will be conducting prescribed burns in several locations across the San Luis Valley this spring. These projects include:

English Valley - located three miles north of Del Norte on the Divide Ranger District. This 1000 acre prescribed burn is designed to improve browse and forb production for wildlife habitat.Buffalo Pass - located 21 miles west of Saguache, on the south side of Highway 114 on the Saguache Ranger District. This 800 acre prescribed burn is designed to improve browse for wildlife winter habitat, reduce insect/disease occurrence in timbered areas, and reduce hazardous fuel accumulations.

Squaw Creek - located 19 miles west of Saguache on the south side of Highway 114 on BLM-managed lands. The planned burn area is approximately 500 acres. The primary purpose of the burn is to reduce fuels from an old timber sale and improve grass and browse production for wildlife while improving timber stand conditions.

Blue Park - located two miles east of Wagon Wheel Gap on the Divide Ranger District. This 150 acre prescribed fire is designed to reduce conifer encroachment in meadows and improve bighorn sheep habitat.Alamaditas - located 14 miles northwest of Antonito on the Conejos Peak Ranger District. This 900 acre prescribed burn is designed to reduce insect and disease infestations, improve timber stand conditions and improve browse for wildlife habitat.

November – located three miles north of Fox Creek subdivision on the Conejos Peak Ranger District. This 150 acre prescribed burn is designed to reduce insect and disease infestations and improve timber stand conditions.

These projects will be carried out as weather conditions allow starting the first part of April and potentially lasting until the middle of June. Local area residents can expect to see smoke from these prescribed burns for several days during implementation in each area.

Updates concerning prescribed burns will be posted on the Rio Grande National Forest website at www.fs.usda.gov/riogrande. For more information call the San Luis Valley Public Lands Center at 719-852-5941.

The BLM manages more than 245 million acres of public land, the most of any Federal agency. This land, known as the National System of Public Lands, is primarily located in 12 Western states, including Alaska. The BLM also administers 700 million acres of sub-surface mineral estate throughout the nation. The BLM's mission is to manage and conserve the public lands for the use and enjoyment of present and future generations under our mandate of multiple-use and sustained yield. In Fiscal Year 2014, the BLM generated $5.2 billion in receipts from public lands.